The West Bengal unit of the BJP has termed as a 'defeat' for West Bengal and its people the Supreme Court order rejecting the party's plea seeking directions for the panchayat elections.
Dilip Ghosh, BJP’s state president, said, “We had painted a true picture before the honourable court. Now the court has decided to overturn all of them. We accept the court’s verdict. It’s a defeat for the people of Bengal and the state.”
Ghosh said the party had expected the Supreme Court’s intervention in the matter because of rampant violence in the state where the ruling party allegedly did not let the opposition file nominations. However, despite that, the BJP has managed to file nominations in 25,000 seats out of 48,000 panchayat seats. The CPI(M) and Congress could not file nominations in even 20 per cent of the total seats.
Monday is the last date for filling nominations.
BJP state vice president Biswapriya Roychowdhury said in East Midnapore on Monday that Trinamool Congress workers barricaded BDO and SDO offices where nomination papers for panchayats, panchayat samitis and zila parishads were to be deposited.
“They are not allowing anyone to enter the offices of BDO or SDO. Our party men tried to forcibly enter into the offices to deposit nominations. But even BDOs and SDOs refused to give us security,” said Roychowdhury.
Despite Ghosh’s veiled criticism of the judiciary, Roychowdhury said the party did not hope for much action from the court as the election commission is a constitutional body, which might not show interest in interfering.
“The court does not want to interfere with the election system. But what made us go to the Supreme Court was large-scale violence, which the state government failed to check. This is not the environment for election,” Roychowdhury said.
Ghosh, however, termed the panchayat elections as nothing but “unimportant.”
“Let them wait till next year. We will take revenge for each and every misdeed they have done. In the general election, they would not get their own administration to manipulate,” said the state BJP president.
The BJP had expected positive action from the Supreme Court similar to 2013 when the court ordered Central forces to be deployed in parts of West Bengal during the then-panchayat election.
“But that happened because the then-state election commission went to the court against the state government. This time, a political party has gone. So it has been asked to go to the election commission if it saw any violation of poll norms,” said a bureaucrat of West Bengal.